The organization will provide mini pumpkins for each child to decorate, and hold party games with prizes. Families can also bring a pumpkin they already decorated at home and compete for a prize.

"Some of the kids, it's amazing what you can do with pumpkins," Ms. Landers said.

One new event offered this year will allow kids to be digitally fingerprinted for free by Time Warner Cable. The digital system scans each child's fingerprints and can enhance them to make it easier for law enforcement officials to view the patterns in the event of an emergency.

Parents receive a data storage device with the child's personal information on it, but the information is not stored by law enforcement.

"That's really, really cool, it's something that you usually don't have. It's just something nice to have for your kids," Ms. Landers said.

A fortune teller will also be at the event. The Sunrise Kiwanis will also be giving out books to children. All of the "Boo It" events are free of cost and open to the public, Ms. Landers said.

"This is something you can do for free, you can go and the city provides that," she said.

The Goldsboro Police Department will keep the event safe with extra patrols downtown.

"Boo It" kicks off at 4 p.m. at Cornerstone Commons at the corner of Chestnut and South Center Street. A downtown trick-or-treating trail will run from 5-6 p.m., with participating businesses identified by orange traffic cones.

The City of Goldsboro will hold trick-or-treating the same night, from 5-7 p.m.

"Last year it was on a different day, so you can do Boo It and rest and do tricking-or-treating, or start off trick-or-treating right here," Ms. Landers said.